ThreePart Concerto
by Elementsofmine
Summary: Before Naraku’s lustful yearnings, there was a miko who loved no one…and a hanyou who no one loved. Behold, a Concerto in Three.
1. Prologue

**Notes: **Welcome to this story, I hope you find it to your liking. This story was written by an author high on almost anything she could get her hands on, including glue, sawdust, and a pair of moldy erasers. Yes, quite strangely, even erasers can mold over in time. They were quite an interesting shade of purple, indeed.

'Three-Part Concerto' was written for a fanfiction contest that was quite nicely enough, lenient enough to allow extremely-long-fics-that-bore-every-one-to-death. I was afraid no one was going to take this fic.

The only rules of the contest were that it had to show the relationship between Kikyo and Inuyasha, needed NOT to be a romance fic (up to the author's own decision) and could NOT VILIFY KIKYO.

Given the above requirements, what else to do but a romance fic? -

**Disclaimer: **If you think I will allow myself to be sued for forgetting the disclaimer, I'll gladly give you my free visit-to-the-asylum pass. A nice man dressed all in white holding a funny-looking jacket handed it to me the last time I visited there, as he said, 'just in case'.

Maybe I shouldn't have brought my purple erasers along for the visit back then.

**R&R: **Warning: This IS a Inu/Kik romance fic. If these things disturb you, or anger you, or all in all turn you into the green Hulk himself, please switch stories now. I have many more stories that are much less idiotic then this one. If you flame me, I will post it up for the world to see and practice my dart-throwing skills with it. Otherwise, I take constructive criticism quite nicely.

So here it is. In all it's glory and stupidity. For better or for worse. In good times and bad. Through sickness and health. I present to you…  
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Three-Part Concerto  
****By Elementsofmine/elementalspirit125  
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Prologue  
  
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This story is rated R. The ratings vary from chapter to chapter. This chapter is rated PG for minor suggestive comments.  
  
1536 Early Spring, Japan  
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Kagome drank in the delicious sights of the world beyond the well. The trees had their foliage raised, as though purposely showing off their beautiful leaves. The flowers were in the midst of their growing season, at their height. Feeling a falling leaf tickle her nose, she couldn't help but sneeze.

"A-Achoo!"

A chuckle, then a light _thump_ beside her quickly reminded her of the quickly-growing bored hanyou companion that had recently ago confined himself to the top branches of a tree. Scratching himself in a dog-like fashion he whined,

"Kagome, did you bring anything good to eat? I'm starved!"

Kagome only snorted. The day Inuyasha died of hunger would be the day Sesshomaru hung his head in shame and vowed to serve forevermore as Shippo's pet puppy.

Instead, she reached into her backpack, rummaging about for something else. "Mama, Souta and I went shopping yesterday," she told the curious dog demon. "I bought some flowers because…" She pulled out the delicate bouquet of roses, carefully smoothing down the edges of the paper wrapping. Looking up at Inuyasha nervously, she turned away to stare at the ground while her voice came out in a whisper. "I…I wanted to visit Kikyo's grave."

The hanyou's face softened considerably, thinking also of how the miko had saved their lives by intercepting one of Naraku's miasma blasts in the last battle. Maybe now she would finally rest in peace, although whether or not that was happening was still a guess.

Nodding quickly, the hanyou kept his face shaded as they both walked silently to the little plot of land where Kikyo's remains where buried. Brushing away a low tree branch, Kagome was surprised to see that up ahead where Sango and Miroku, seemingly having the same strange temptation to visit Kikyo's grave.

"Sango! Miroku!" she cried happily, running up to meet them, almost tripping over a mushroom she had not noticed lying on the ground.

"Ha!" cried the mushroom, with a poof transforming back into the devious kitsune. "Didja miss me Kagome? Didja really not see me! Ha! I'm getting better!"

Giggling, the fox demon was scooped up into his surrogate mother's arms as she nuzzled him. Inuyasha walked up, carefully avoiding the nuzzling Kagome and Shippo (he still appeared to be allergic to all outright signs of affection) and stared at the sheepish Miroku and Sango.

"Oy!" he called. "What are you two doing here?"

"Well, ah…"

"You see…"

"-thought we might…"

"-so then…"

"-and before we knew it…"

"-yeah…"

Miroku looked around nervously for anything that would take the unconvinced hanyou's mind off the current events. Not wanting to reveal that he too, had suddenly felt like visiting the former miko's grave, he grabbed God's gift to men and prayed it would all be over before long.

::SLAM::

Muttering life-threatening curses not suitable to be coming out of her gender's mouth, Sango huddled behind a confused Kagome and Shippo as means for protection. "You hentai," her voice muffled as she spoke with her teeth grit, "I told you; no more groping! Haven't you learned yet, baka? You should be appreciating the fact that Naraku's been killed and you still have a hand!"

Miroku flexed the fingers on his bare hand remorsefully. Ever since Naraku's defeat, the hellhole had grown smaller and smaller until no more of it was left. "But Sango-chan," he bleated, "I'd appreciate them a lot more with you…" The remark was punctuated with the raising of his eyebrows all too invitingly.

Shippo waved his tail eagerly. These spats between the houshi and the exterminator always proved to be a sport for him. Scampering up onto Kagome's shoulders, he balanced precariously, waiting for the fight to begin.

He didn't have to wait long. In the space of a second, Miroku found his way to the side of Sango and pinched her backside cheekily before running away at top speed to her furious rants.

Kagome only sighed, and plopped down on the grassy hill with the kitsune in her arms. Watching Sango chase Miroku around the hill was making her dizzy, so instead she unveiled the flowers from her other hand to place at the foot of Kikyo's gravestone.

Letting Shippo run curiously up to inspect the flowers, Kagome leaned over to delicately touch the engraved letters.

_**Kikyo**_

No last name was provided, no date nor year. Just a single insignia with fanciful waves and curves dotting the letters.

"She wanted this."

Kagome looked up to see her hanyou looking away into the forest with his arms crossed curtly.

"She wanted life and received a half-life," he replied, still not turning to face Kagome. "Maybe now she has what she wanted. Another life in another place. Kaede's coming."

The last comment took a while to sink in, and it was only until Kagome saw the top of the old woman head did she fully comprehend. "Kaede," she called, waving her arm to signal the group's locality.

With a low nod in acknowledgement, the old women carefully made her way up the hill, and with a deep sigh of relief, took her seat next to Kagome.

"Ah, Kagome, you decided to visit Kikyo-onee-sama's grave today. What are your reasons behind this visit, child?"

Kagome played idly with a blade of grass, tickling the giggling Shippo on the nose with it. "I don't know," she replied slowly, carefully thinking out her words. "But I think it has to do with the fact that I had a strange dream last night…In fact, I've had it for the past few days."

"What kind of dreams?" asked Kaede, curious. Sango, also curious about the affairs of Kagome's dreams, stopped her chasing of Miroku and sat down near the two. Miroku trudged over also, a little slower, however, speed burdened by the large lumps on his head.

"Well," Kagome replied nervously, wringing out her hands. "They're mostly sorta strange, so don't laugh, okay?

All three nodded, determined to make her reveal what was bothering her so.

"Well," Kagome began, wistfully. "In my dreams, I'm always in the middle of the forest in front of the village. It's probably deep into it, because no one else is ever there. Sometimes, I'm just standing there, other times, I'm lying on the ground, crying. I never really know what I'm doing, and every time I just start to think over things. I get all these…strange memories, ones I don't remember when I wake up. Then, I feel someone's hand on my shoulders, and an arrow is placed in my hand. I try to see the person behind me, but I never seem to be able to. When I place the arrow down on the ground, it spins and points off into deeper forest. And then…"

All of the company, even the reluctantly curious Inuyasha, leaned closer for the dream's finale.

"I wake up."

Inuyasha crashed to the ground, over-balancing in his attempt to hear better. Miroku sighed and Sango rubbed her palms together uncertainly. Kaede, however, looked thoughtful.

"Tell me child," she pronounced slowly. "You say you have memories that are strange to you. Try to remember some of them."

Kagome wrinkled her nose in deep thought. "Umm…" she replied, "I think I can remember a picture…and two boxes. And also a headband. But that's it."

Kaede pursed her lips meditatively. "I seem to recall a portrait a long time ago that held a matter of importance in my sister's life," she stated after a while. "Does my sister's grave have anything to do with your dreams?"

Kagome shrugged. "I guess. It just sorta reminds me of my dreams."

Inuyasha spoke, his voice startling Kagome into realizing he was now seated beside her, completing the circle the group formed in front of the grave. "Tell her the story," he said, gruffly. "Tell her of Kikyo's life, Kaede. It might help her remember something."

Kaede moved to a more comfortable position for her, sighing as her old limbs found a better way to sit. "I've been waiting for that request, Inuyasha. My old mind has aged; I no longer remember what happened when the world was younger. You must also join me in the telling."

Taking his silence as a yes, Kaede sighed and moved the bag on her shoulder onto the grass. "This here," she motioned, "contains four shovels. I too, have had your dream countless times."

Seeing the group's surprised faces, she nodded. "I believe the arrow is telling us the direction in where we must dig to find whatever it is the hand wants revealed. Maybe with the telling of Kikyo's life, we will reveal more about these strange dreams."

Letting Shippo snuggle deeper into her arms, Kagome nodded. "I think Kaede's right," she affirmed. "Besides," she said, smiling coyly. "I'd like to know a little about Inu-chan's past girlfriend."

Laughing at his friend's angry blush, Miroku beckoned to Sango. "See?" he whispered. "Kagome is no longer hurt by these past lovers of Inuyasha. Maybe they finally see through each other, hmm?"

Sango smiled fondly at her friend Kagome, eyes not missing the way Inuyasha reserved his special glance for only her. In other ways, her heart ached, also wanting the sweet emotion of a first love.

Maybe one day…

Kaede cleared her throat, preparing to begin. "Now, do not correct an old woman's musings," she warned, seemingly directly to an adamant Inuyasha (Feh! Like I give a crap about some old woman's tale). "My mind is old and can no longer focus correctly. Just stop me if I start drifting off."

"Let's see now…Ah yes…

"The last summer before Frost of Dragonflies…the Spring of New Beginnings…suddenly, my mind is clearer then it has ever been…I remember now…"

**TBC**

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**Rondo (from elementalspirit125):**

I am nobody. Nobody is perfect. Therefore, I am perfect.


	2. Part One: Larghetto grazioso

**Notes: **Ah, the second chapter! Possible one of the most rushed chapters I've ever done, this definitely took me a while. Nag at me with reviews and I may just type faster. Right now, I have my eight-year-old sister chewing on my shoulder for me to play. All work and no play makes her big sister here a very dull girl indeed. If I get my Japanese wrong, I'm sorry, please bear with me. I'm Chinese, not Japanese.

**Disclaimer: **As I am being used as a teething toy at the moment (see above), there is no way for me to storm up to Japan and demand a purchase of Inuyasha. So there is no ownership here to date.

**R&R: **Click…the…button…

**Three-Part Concerto**

**By Elementsofmine/elementalspirit125**

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**Part One: Larghetto grazioso**

This story is rated R. The ratings vary from chapter to chapter. This chapter is rated PG-13 for language and adult situations.

1482 Late Summer, Japan

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It was the end of summer, fast approaching winter. Cleanly breaking off a fresh herb's stem, Kikyo straightened and scanned the area for any danger to her village.

Not that there would be any. She had made sure of that. No harm would ever befall her beautiful village while she was around. But at times, she couldn't stop the train of thoughts that reminded her that there would be a time when she would no longer be able to help defend her home.

A wind spiraled lazily through the treetops, making its way right into the core of the young woman's heart. Looking up through the leafy enclosures of the trees above, Kikyo noted the position of the morning sun.

The thought that her beloved village might have to go on without a priestess was frightening.

And that had led to the search for a new priestess, the legendary position of _miko_.

A protector; the sacred saint of a village.

Too sacred, in Kikyo's opinion, to just give up so easily to any person or persons.

The initiation test was rigorous; '_Too rigorous',_ the townspeople complained. It had been a little over a year since Kikyo had first sent word through a messenger of the need for a new priestess. Many people had come in hopes of acquiring the job, as the role of a village protector usually promised much fame and respect. If they weren't turned away at the first glimpse of the frosty exam critic, they left after the impossible duties given to them as a part of their propensity judgment.

The stream of eager applicants had slowly dwindled with time into an almost non-existent trickle. Still, it was better then nothing. Then again, to Kikyo, no one would ever hold her village as close to their heart as she did.

The breaking of sticks in the underbrush alerted Kikyo of someone's coming. The small footsteps and heavy breathing announced her younger sister's appearance moments before the first sight of her wispy black hair appeared around a clump of river birch trees.

"Kikyo!" the child called out, bumbling through rocks and leaves. "Nagaseiru- chan says the baby is coming!"

Slipping the herbs in her hands into the burlap bag strapped securely on her back, Kikyo narrowed her eyes as she took in her sister's appearance. A cute face nevertheless untended to judging by the many leaves in her hair, Kaede was constantly blundering in her sister's shadow. Bright eyes, seeming eager to please, blinked furiously back at her questioningly.

Jumping from foot to foot, clearly aware of her sister's cold observations, the young Kaede pleaded once more.

"Kikyo-onee-sama, please. Nagaseiru needs you!"

Deftly pulling her loose hair back with a simple ribbon, Kikyo slung the burlap bag onto on shoulder, checking to see how much she had picked that day. _Not enough,_ she noticed grimly. Picking out a few stray white hairs obviously left in the plants by a wandering animal, she mentally calculated the amount of food the village needed. If they were to survive, 'they' being the entire village, she would need much more herbs and food, as much as the wilderness could supply. But winter was dawning near, already lurking in through cold weather and early frosts. If the village crops were suddenly hit by a severe frost…

Kikyo left that idea alone.

Following her sister's footsteps quietly, Kikyo watched her steps carefully and made sure to lift her feet over the plants still alive under the leaves. Her sister meanwhile, crashed headfirst through the woods, regardless of what she was stepping on. Biting back reprimands for her sister's heavy steps, Kikyo kept her eyes on her feet instead.

Step, step, step.

How closely her steps resembled her life! Never changing their pattern always keeping their rhythm.

So _boring_…

Whispers of the curious village people flitted into the dust roads, entering Kikyo's ears as she took her first steps out of the wilderness and into the town.

"Kikyo…and Kaede…"

"Naga-chan's babe'll be a girl, betcha my sack of marbles for it, Taito!"

"Oh yeah? You're on Boshi!"

"-no resemblance at all between the sisters…"

"Childbirth, risky task that it is, I'm sure our priestess will pull it through, just you wait, she and 'er disciples always make it through!"

The last comment came from a stooped old man, back hunched over as though he carried the weight of the world upon his shoulders. A quavering arm stuck through his robes, relying on a curiously-shaped stick for support. Winking encouragingly at her, the man's wrinkled face was the last glimpse Kikyo had of the village before a heavy tent flap fell into place behind her.

A woman inside touched Kikyo's arm softly, pulling away quickly as the dark eyes of the priestess flashed a warning back.

"Your students are already with Nagaseiru-chan, priestess. They await your instructions," the woman stammered.

When the miko said nothing, the woman fidgeted uncomfortably and instead looked down at the child beside her.

Kaede, the sister of the renowned priestess, seemed to be humming under her breath while performing a quirky half-skip. Shaking her head at the strange child's antics, the woman nervously preformed a quick bow to Kikyo, and with a worried glance behind her, took Kaede by the hand as to lead her out. When the child resisted, the woman looked down at Kaede to see the child staring intently at her older sister. Kikyo glanced over the woman nonchalantly, seemingly bored with her, but then paused and laid her eyes upon her sister. The woman pulled once more, half-heartedly, at the younger child's hand, filling in the silence that followed.

Glancing once again at the innermost dark depths of the tent and the soon-to-be mother that was in it, the woman carefully held the younger sister by the hand and yanked quickly once more, startling the child into following her out of the tent. With a raising of her other hand, the child solemnly waved goodbye to her older sister, who only stared back for a few seconds before disappearing into the depths of the tent.

Allowing herself a quick sigh of relief, the woman stared down at the wide-eyed girl child standing beside her, hand in hand. What did go through that child's mind?

Shuddering, the woman remembered a time long ago when…

No. It would be better to leave those thoughts alone. No one had the power to tamper with the gifts granted by the gods, no matter how powerful one was.

No one was ever truly comfortable around the frosty priestess or her strange sister. The priestess' accomplishments were many and her talents far spread in many areas, but still the woman was glad not to have to stay with the miko any longer then necessary. There was always something…off about the miko. Her frosty exclusion of everyone prevented anyone to understanding her. She kept to herself, living with the child Kaede in a solitary tent, placed away from everyone else's. And so it had always been, the two of them living alone, ever since their parents were killed in a demon attack upon their village years ago.

Ushering the child to a group of village girls at play, the woman noted how easily Kaede was accepted into the circle of children. She could only imagine what it would be like if Kikyo walked into a circle of women and girls.

No one would treat her as an equal, as they did all the time to Kaede. Everyone treated Kikyo as though she was immortal, a Goddess.

Then again, there weren't many women who did not know of Kaede either; no one would be like the children and welcome her so eagerly if they all knew what Kaede could do…

The woman watched Kaede for a bit longer, then felt her gaze drift over to a group of gossiping women, no doubt trading stories of Naga-chan's birthing. One of the women in the group, a bony lady with a sharp pair of eyes, spied her immediately and waved her hand for her to come over.

"Shira-san! You were just in the tent with Kikyo, weren't you?" the woman pointed out, almost accusingly. "Come over and sit with us."

Eager for new stories and tales, the other women parted easily and allowed the newcomer a place to sit. Soon, the woman Shira relented and told of the strange bond between the two infinitely different sisters. The whole group turned to look at the giggling child named Kaede.

"So carefree…" one woman whispered, reaching out a hand tentatively, as if with one grasp, she too could regain her young days.

Instead, a hand slapped out to swat away her reaching appendage. The rest of the group laughed as the woman blushed and looked up at the one who had reprimanded her. The sharp-faced woman looked over her, callously.

"You idiot," she breathed. "Look at her!" At the command, all the women stopped their laughing and followed the bony woman's pointing finger.

"She's merely a shadow," the woman spat out, her voice laden with scorn. "I see no reason why anyone would and will ever envy her. Nothing more then a wraith child that's never going to amount to anything." Seeing the shared shocked expressions on her fellow village women's faces, she cast her eyes to the tent where Kikyo was working, narrowing them as though the mere sight of the tent and its inhabitants disgusted her. "That Kikyo…she's a nothing too! Only famous among us because of her supposed relation to the Great Priestess Midoriko! I wouldn't be surprised if it was all _lies!_"

By now, a crowd had gathered curiously around the ranting woman. Reveling in the attention directed at her, the old woman stood up and eagerly went on, shouting accusations of the two sisters.

"And how are we to know the two of them aren't children of the Devil?" the woman screamed, mouth almost frothing in her allegations. "Who knows how they are still alive today? Their bastard father and mother were killed in a demon attack that should have left them dead too! No ordinary child should have survived it, yet they did!" Jabbing a finger at one of the men that had stopped to see what the commotion was about, she screamed, "You! You were one of the men that was the first one to try and save the family, weren't you?" As the man dumbly nodded, scared of inflicting the crazed woman's wrath upon himself, the woman crowed in triumph. "Didn't you tell everyone that the two children, one only a newborn and the other barely ten years, had survived the demon attack with no markings on either?" Screaming in rage, the woman grabbed the man's robes, shaking him wildly. "Didn't you say that the mother and father were dead long before you arrived, killed by demons?" Then, in a hushed voice, she whispered, "And didn't you say the children were found, having dinner among all the demons as though nothing was wrong, while their parents' bodies were just lying there? Didn't you? Didn't you?"

Taito, one of the young village boys, stood in dumb disbelief as the old woman shook the poor man wildly, screaming into his face. Almost lost amongst the horrified shouts and yells of the village, he spun to find the girl he had been talking to just a few minutes before the woman started her rant.

"Kaede, Kaede!" he called, confused and scared. "Hurry, go find Kikyo and-"

The girl was gone.

The woman suddenly screeched, letting go of the man who then toppled over and hurriedly crawled away on hands and feet. Turning around quickly, she was greeted by the very child she had only moments before, accused of being the Devil's child.

And Kaede certainty looked the part.

Behind the woman, now cowed by the sight into silence, a solitary child stood, eyes aflame with intense fury and passion, one arm raised in front of her.

Irony played its card cunningly, throwing down its main card behind the gasping sharp-faced woman. "I never knew you thought that way about me, dear respected elder Janai." Kaede's remarkably biting tone, so similar to her older sister's, sent shivers involuntarily seeping down the old woman's spine. "A wise man once told me you learn something new everyday. Now that I have learned something from you, let me teach you something."

Slowly opening her fist, Kaede revealed five fingers, still the short fingers of a child yet to be elongated in adulthood. Lowering all but one, Kaede held her hand out for the elder woman to see more clearly.

"In a different world, where you did not accuse priestesses of blasphemy, children of evil ideas, and unfortunate, innocent people of associating with the devil, you would have lived five times longer then what you have now. Instead, you chose to insult those who work under Nature's instruction and the Heavenly God's will. By the fallacy that my sister and I are the daughters of the Devil, you have sealed your own fate."

The elder woman Janai clasped her hands out in front of her pleading for forgiveness with madness. Her screamed apologies had little affect on the child standing in front of her. Speaking as the judgmental priest that had sentenced the drunken murderer to hell, Kaede only trembled slightly as she continued.

"You would've been able to live many years from now, but that is of no use to you now. Now, you will wish you were dead before this season is over. Madness that was today, you will be cursed with until you die. You always were defiant against the ways of the miko, Janai, and it was you that spoke loudest when we announced the search for a new miko. Now, you'll always find other that agree with you…the voices in your head will take you to your grave!"

With a scream, the woman fell to her feet, all appearances forgotten as she kicked up dust from the road and clawed horribly at her head. Screaming obscenities and threats against unseen evils, the woman's blank eyes stared out at everyone yet focused on no one.

A whisper, just an undertone, yet loud enough to be carried throughout the screaming and the gasps of the large crowd that had commenced, silenced the whole village.

The priestess was known for showing notoriously little emotion and she followed her traits through now, face as blank as it had been before she entered the tent. However, her eyes gave her away, furious orbs of dilating brown, many times over crueler and sharper then the sharp-faced woman's had been. Her remaining three students trailed behind her, faces filled with enough varying emotions that made up for their mentor's lack.

Gripping the tin bucket of water that she held tightly, Kikyo stared at the crowd that looked guiltily back at her. The only sounds were of those of the crazed woman, still rolling uncontrollably on the ground.

"Unless," the priestess's voice whispered, "the birth of the baby is to be announced in the midst of a mad woman who is cursed by the devils and demons of this world, I will stay here no longer. The babe's naming day will be held tomorrow. Nagaseiru will provide more information. Good day."

And with that, the priestess strode briskly to where the child was still standing, staring down at the rolling woman in the dust. Face lifting up at the arrival of her older sister, Kaede smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry Kikyo-onee-sama," she murmured. "It happened again."

And amid the scene of crazed women and scared faces, the child fainted.

* * *

Taito fidgeted nervously under the priestess' cold stare. "I brought Kaede-kun a present," the poor boy stammered, brushing away nervously at the black locks that kept falling into his eyes. I though she might want something to do since she…"

He trailed off, too uncomfortable to continue. To his amazement, Kikyo allowed him one of her rare smiles, opening the tent flap a little wider to admit his entrance.

"Kaede would love company," Kikyo admitted, "She doesn't like staying in bed any longer then necessary."

Taito nodded furiously. "Once, when I aksident'ly forgot about her while playing hide 'n seek, she got furious at me." Losing himself in his story telling, he smiled innocently up at Kikyo. "She went all (here, he play-acted and scrunched up his nose and stomped heavily on the ground) 'Taito, you better not be here when I count to five, other wise I'ma gonna color you purple!' and I had to run. Really fast."

Smiling gently at the boy's harmless friendship with her younger sister, Kikyo nodded. "And I bet you can run fast too. Why don't you stay here with Kaede for a while? She's a bit tired to do much like play hide and seek, but I bet you can still talk a while with her. I have to go outside and pick more herbs, so you can keep her company while I'm gone."

Nodding furiously, Taito scampered inside, almost tripping on a loose nail from the flooring.

"And Taito?"

Looking back, he saw, surprise of all surprises, a crafty smile on Kikyo's face. "Did you call Kaede…Kaede-kun?"

Blushing furiously he looked down at his feet, finding more interest in his bare feet then in the answer to Kikyo's question. Feeling Kikyo pat him on the shoulder, he looked up to see the miko place a finger on her smiling lips.

"Shhh, go on and play," she said, cocking her head to the side. "I promise, I won't say anything."

Face an angry blush of red at having his secret crush found out, he nodded furiously and ran inside. Seconds later, an exited whoop followed, and Taito's voice broke out excitedly, "Look Kaede! Nagaseiru-chan's baby was a boy! I won the marbles!" Laughter from both children sounded throughout the room, echoing through the small home.

"But Taito," Kikyo heard Kaede say, concerned. "You should be more careful, even if it's exciting news like that. It looks like you spilled red paint all over yourself again!"

* * *

The sun's position had just reached its peak; it was only noon. In some ways, Kikyo wished reverently for the day's end.

Kaede's premonitions had started again!

Kikyo couldn't clear herself of that one thought, as she made her way blindly back through the forest, to the clearing where she felt safe, protected from the leering eyes of the village.

Kaede's premonitions had started again!

Shivers ran down Kikyo's spine, forcing her to stop walking and seek the comfort of sitting on the ground. Feeling the cool earth did nothing to sooth her anxious queries now, though.

Kaede's premonitions had started again!

Soon, fingers would be pointed, searching for anyone to lay the blame on. _Mama, Papa,_ Kikyo sobbed, chest heaving. _I can't protect Kaede anymore. I'm so sorry…_

Kaede's premonitions had started again!

So many villages the two of them had inhabited, so many days spent on the road just searching for a new place to live where no one had yet to hear of a Kaede's unfortunate gift. Each had ended is disastrous results, chaos and turmoil following as eagles scanning its prey.

Instability in the family was blamed, although no one truly understood Kaede's skill. _The skill of death,_ thought Kikyo, trembling. _The power to send anyone that angered her to their grave…_

Jumping up and grabbing her bow at a movement in the bush, Kikyo stiffened that relaxed, mentally chiding herself for letting herself be frightened of just a woodland animal. Finding her way through the trees and back to the area she had been picking herbs before the news of Nagaseiru's birth came to her, Kikyo gave up on walking and fell to the ground in an exhausted heap.

Expressing her grief at her and Kaede's renewed secret freely now, Kikyo cried brokenly, leaking out her tears with gasps in between.

Soon the talk would start and people would banish them, just like the other villages had. Soon, Kaede and her would be left without a home, left on the road with nothing more then what they wore now.

Pressing her face against the soft ground, Kikyo cried fresh tears, hurting for both her and her sister. Fingers grasping blindly to the side of her face, she felt an imprint on the ground. Propping herself up on one hand, Kikyo wiped away the tears on her face, feeling mud and salt water smear.

Looking down at her propped hand, Kikyo saw the imprint.

It was a footprint.

Bringing her face close to the print, Kikyo saw and understood.

She saw the shape of a bare foot and knew she herself wore shoes. She saw the unnaturally long nails of a demon and realized. She remembered the strange white hairs she had spied this morning and put the two together in her mind. She saw the foot in its entirety and recalled that it was only herself that wandered this deep into the forest.

And later, she would recall the clattering sound of leaves and sticks brushing against each that alerted her all too late of her former suspicions.

As she crawled to the bush behind her timidly, she invited a new emotion into her stiff heart. Her suspicions had been a theory.

A gold eye confirmed them.

Unable to stop from jerking back in surprise, the miko kicked herself away from the bushed area and stood up, grabbing for her bow.

The demon also crawled out of the bush, standing up nonchalantly. Leaning lazily back into a birch tree, the boy stared impudently back at Kikyo. To her fury and, unbelievably to her _fright,_ he grinned back rudely at her distraught form.

Placing two clawed finger to his forehead in some sort of cocky salute, he whistled lowly. "Kisama," the boy spoke, his harsh tones cracking into Kikyo's normally steel core. "Am I to believe that this…" Gesturing with his hand, he pointed to the direction of her village. "This…_dump_…contains the Shikon no Tama? Feh. You would think something as important as the Shikon was protected better than with just a lowly mortal _woman_," he spat out.

"Demon…" she whispered, trying to conceal the fear inside that was threatening to envelop her at any time. Swallowing briefly, she relaxed her stiff, uptight muscles and raised her bow. "What business do you have here…State it and be gone!"

The golden-eyed boy stared insolently back at her, seemingly more curious then a threat. He appeared not to notice the arrow pointed at him, waving a clawed hand as though they were merely old friends having a brief chat.

"Kami-sama, woman. You, out of everyone should now best of all why I'm here. I've come for the Shikon no Tama, woman. I know you have it somewhere in this village, there's no use denying it!"

In a flash, he was standing in front of her, face a scant few inches away from hers. Kikyo could feel his warm breath upon her face. His fangs glimmered evilly as he widened his sneer. "Either hand it over peacefully, or die by my claws, wench!"

Trying not to reveal her obvious fear, Kikyo calmed her breaths and tried to make her mind work. Nothing.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Kikyo panicked now. Her intuition, her archer's aim, her powerful upper body strength, her intelligence, her _cunning_...

Nothing.

She had never felt so dreadfully alone and helpless. Her normally sharp mind had shut down when she needed it most. The demon examined her face closer, looming in with his eyes squinting as if there were hidden details that he strived to learn.

Seizing her face suddenly with one dangerously clawed hand, the demon jerked her head upwards until her eyes met his own lighting-gold ones.

"Now, _bitch_," he breathed, eyes glaring down into hers, strong triumph raising with each second in his tone. He leaned in closer. Kikyo felt her heart stop.

"I-I don't k-know what y-you're talking ab-about…" Kikyo stammered. He ducked his head slowly behind her neck. She felt his lips brush against her neck (_Accidentally,_ she screamed at herself. _Accidentally, nothing more!_) and travel to her ear. A soft chuckle near her lobe added to the undoing to her knees.

"We'll see about that, eh?"

Drip. Drop. Sweat curled down her face. He was too close, too close for comfort. Never had she let anyone come into such close proximity. She felt a single fang travel over her lower cheek.

"I've always wanted to say this…" he breathed, claws traveling over her neck and settling on the vital vein where only one swipe was needed. Kikyo had to stop breathing in order to keep her skin from scraping over his finely pointed claw.

And even still, she felt tiny drop of blood trickle down…

He laughed now, freely, loudly, as though enjoying the sound of his own voice.

"Taste my claws!"

Holding her neck with one hand while another swung back behind him, preparing for the fatal swipe, he slashed forward…

* * *

A young woman, dressed in a miko's simple attire, busily ran, skipped, and in other words, fell over townspeople as she made her way through the busy village.

"Kikyo-sama! Kikyo-sama? Kikyo! Oops, pardon me! Sorry! Oh dear, good lord! I didn't mean to do that!"

One of the two other women trailing more modestly behind, dressed also in skirts identical to that of the first, shook her head and made to whisper to the woman beside her.

"Baka," she whispered angrily, despite the many people that were beginning to stare, "How that idiot Tai ever got to be a miko's apprentice is beyond me! Don't you agree Emi?"

Her partner said nothing, only continued her blank stare down the road.

Getting nothing out of her colleague's silence, the woman only irritably became more agitated. "And anyways, where is Kikyo-sama? She disappeared right after the incident with her sister." Shuddering, the woman looked back once more at her partner. "I shudder to think what that child Kaede has been through. So much talk has surrounded the two! In fact," she said, voice growing hushed. "I heard the elder Janai has died! Only a few hours after the incident, she was found in her room, dead with her eyes still opened!"

Her partner seemed to give off a shudder, and open her mouth as if to say something, only going back to staring off down the road, eyes once again relaxed and unfocused.

Giving up on the silent Emi and preparing to direct her energy towards the more troublesome Tai, the woman was surprised to see that the tripping 'idiot' had vanished.

Suddenly hearing a strange noise from behind the two of them, the woman and Emi turned simultaneously to inspect the cause.

"Whee!' The remaining apprentice Tai seemed to be juggling a bunch of assorted fruits she had managed to snatch from one of the bemused shopkeeper's stand, seemingly already forgetting what she had originally set out to do. Rolling her eyes, annoyed, the second apprentice hurried to catch the fruits before they fell while Emi directed her blank attention onto one of the villagers who then, noticing her stare, walked away quickly.

As the dark-haired woman managed to scramble and catch all five fruits to the oohs and aahs of the crowd they had attracted, she tiredly gave all the fruits back to the laughing salesman. Pulling away her protesting colleague by the ear, she scolded the squealing girl.

"Sheesh," she muttered. "I feel as if I'm the only one doing any work around here." Seeing the comment had no effect on the still motionless Emi, the woman sighed and prepared to take off her mounting energy on the wearisome Tai once more.

"Tai," she lectured, "Remember, I sent you out to fin-"

She was speaking to thin air.

Nearly screaming in outrage, the woman quickly scanned the busy marketplace for any sign of the difficult child. The youngest of the three apprentices left under Kikyo's care, Tai was constantly brimming with energy and useless new ideas that took steam and patience out of everyone in the village. Everyone, perhaps, except the children. They adored the newest addition to their village and followed her constantly, hoping to coax her into a game.

Seeing nothing, the woman harrumphed and tried to make the best of things. "Agh, I bet that monkey-child has run off into the woods to search for Kikyo. If she doesn't stop running around like this all day, one day her brains or what's left of them may just leak out. Agh!"

Her companion continued to stare uninterestedly.

* * *

…and froze.

Kikyo, having been in his death grip, wanted nothing more then to suddenly live, to just _reside_ and breathe. There was something about life that no one seemed to want to give up, even in the darkest hour. And as Kikyo stood there, knees bent with weakness, holding up only with the demon's hand around her throat, she leaned forward, mind only half-working.

Everything screeched to a stop as her mind and her heart died out, having lost all resolve to think and act correctly.

An emotion blinded her.

The onslaught of all her mind had to offer hit her with a tidal wave of forgotten, repressed memories.

Leaning forward, she knew what she was heading toward could never be taken back. But she no longer cared. The severities of life had left her scarred; for now, there was stopping point.

She was soft, her lips yielding to his own, letting him in on all her ideas all her thoughts. He held her shoulders harder, squeezing them as to never let go. Deepening the kiss, Kikyo felt her mind scream out _Wrong, wrong, wrong!_ This could never be, a demon and a miko together. Everything about the scene painted was wrong, but her arms obeyed her heart, not her mind, and wrapped only tighter around the boy's taut frame.

Suddenly wanting more, the demon hugged her tight and roughly took control. Parting her lips with ease, he tasted her acutely, senses going haywire at the touch. Taking her soft moan as an acceptance to the events and to go even further, he bent his head over hers, dipping himself into her flavor.

Kikyo's eyes were shut tightly, taking in all ecstasy in the kiss. Gasping for air, she reluctantly broke off and opened her eyes to look back at the panting, slightly mussed demon. When seconds ticked by without either party voicing any ideas, Kikyo reached a finger out tentatively towards him, stopping a mere inches away from his dog-like ears.

Waiting for his approval of the touch, she looked into his eyes and saw his sadness behind the defiant glare. Without warning, she grabbed him and stood there, arms around his neck, face lying across his chest. Sobbing heartbreakingly, she felt his arms tighten around hers. His stunningly beautiful hair caught into her own ebony locks in an impossible web of silver and black.

Without warning, he left her. Arms unraveling, fingers untangling, he left as suddenly as he had come, leaving a stunned Kikyo, collapsing onto the ground without any support. It wasn't until she was sure his running footsteps could no longer be heard did she fall to the ground.

Trembling fingers were brought to her lips as she brushed against the warm skin, reminding herself that it had indeed been real and not just a dream gone overboard. Her mind was working overtime trying to solve the mystery of how she had managed to lose all her power and strength against one mere demon, when she had slayed billions in the past. It was frightening, not having strength now that she knew what it was and how much she craved it.

Kikyo stared at her hands which lay motionlessly by her face.

Silence.

--------------------

**Japanese Glossary:**

Kisama- Informal 'you'. Rather rude, though.

Kami-sama- God

Baka- Idiot

Onee- Sister

Sama- revered one

**Chapter Notes:**

Hmm…Got to say, the kiss scene was a little hurried and screwed. So was the introduction of the OCs in the end. Here's a minor explanation: Kikyo has never been shown love much in her life, with her and her sister constantly on the run from her sister's bizarre talent of inflicting death, pain, and madness. And so, her unexpected kiss with the stranger 'demon' scares her greatly, especially since she now knows that a minor kiss like that can take away all her strength and leave her powerless to protect her village. She's very dedicated to the care of her village, and has no idea yet of what the Shikon is.

The three apprentices are Emi (the emotionless one), Hiruki (the speaker, not yet introduced properly) and Tai (the 'idiot'). Emi is mysterious, not much is known about her yet. Hiruki is quick to complain, but with good reason. With the other two apprentices being so strange in appearances and actions, it is usually she who suffers with most of the responsibility. Inside, however, she cares deeply for her colleagues. Tai is…well, Tai. I'm going to have lots of fun with her…-

The old woman, Janai, is just one of the possible many who do not take Kikyo and her sister in a happy way. Many differ to Kikyo's sudden appearance and fame in the village and are afraid of who she may really be.

Oh, and Taito!

Quite the darling little boy, winkwink who just adores Kaede, no matter what anyone else says about her. He's also quite taken back by Kikyo's usual demeanor. However, that seems to be changing…

**Chapter Soundtrack:**

You Thought Wrong

Kelly Clarkson

Lose Yourself

Eminem

Leave (Get Out)

Jojo

Meant to Live

Switchfoot

Roses

Outkast

The Way

Clay Aiken

My Band

D-12 ft. Eminem

Ocean Avenue

'Yellowcard'

Yeah!

Usher ft. Lil' John and Ludacris

Hey Mama

Black-Eyed Peas

Time Stands Still

The All-American Rejects

Escape

Enrique Iglesias (no idea how to spell…;;;)

**Reviews:**

Esko Pa- Eek! SQUE I luv you so much for just always being on and ready to review anything I throw out! Lots of love love love! huggles

Nefer- Same as above! When are you NOT on? Luv you so much for always being there to make my day, whether my story rules or just all-out stinks!

KawaiiKikyoicequeen3- Aie! So you haven't forgotten about me! glomps Keep going with all your stories, you might not be able to take over hell just yet but you certainty are doing a great job taking over animespiral!

**Rondo (from elementalspirit125):**

"The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder."   
Alfred Hitchcock.

Got a funny quote you want to send in? Go right ahead and add it in with your review! They always make my day!


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